Search smh:

Search in:

Little, Hird deny Bomber rift

Patrick Caruana

Essendon chairman Paul Little and sidelined coach James Hird deny a rift exists over the AFL club's handling of the supplements scandal.

Hird has testified that he disagreed with repeated public statements from Mr Little and his predecessor David Evans about the club's decision to report its 2012 supplements program to ASADA and the league, but had agreed to toe the Bombers' party line.

But at the conclusion of the Federal Court hearing on Wednesday, Hird said he still enjoyed a strong relationship with the club hierarchy.

"There's been a lot of silly things said in the paper, but I fully support Paul and his board and they've been terrific of late," Hird told reporters.

Advertisement

Mr Little said Hird would "absolutely" return to coach the club next year, with his AFL-imposed ban to expire at the end of this month.